Aoi Sakuraba
Aoi Hanabishi (nee Sakuraba) (桜庭 葵) is the primary female protagonist of the Ai Yori Aoshi series. She is the daughter and heir to the Sakuraba Family and is later married to Kaoru Hanabishi. Appearance Aoi is generally seen as very beautiful. She has short blue hair and blue eyes. She is usually shown wearing a kimono; specifically, an indigo one, which hides her well-endowed body. On her feet, she wears a pair of white socks and red sandals. Height: 160cm Family Mrs. Sakuraba (mother), Mr. Sakuraba (father) Personality Aoi is a very kind, thoughtful and polite young woman, enough for it to be noted by Kaoru. She is often shown to be able to believe in people, and encourage them, such as when she told Taeko to keep making an effort to be a housekeeper despite her clumsiness, comparing it to her own situation when she was young. She has been described as a Yamato Nadeshiko (traditional Japanese beauty) time and time again by various characters, and every other female in the Sakuraba household aspires to be more like her. Aoi is very devoted to Kaoru, having loved him ever since they were children, and is willing to do anything in her power to prevent being separated from him. When the Hanabishis announced that her engagement to Kaoru was called off, Aoi found this unacceptable and pursued him. It gets to the point that she can barely stand being away from him, even for just a day, and she says at one point that she couldn't imagine spending her life with any man other than him. Initially, however, Aoi did not know why Kaoru left the Hanabishi clan, and assumed that she was the reason and that he did not like her at all. After learning the truth from Kaoru as to why he left the family, Aoi expresses her deep sympathy and doesn't want him to return to the Hanabishi family due to the misery and abuse he suffered from them. However, Aoi is also very shy and demure, to the point that she couldn't bring herself to wear a swimsuit on the beach with fear of showing so much of her body, though she eventually gains the courage to wear one in front of Kaoru. She generally refers to girls as 'Miss' and even addresses Kaoru as "Kaoru-sama", despite having loved him since she was a child. Overtime, she grows notably more courageous, to the point of being able to laugh out loud when she sees Kaoru in a rabbit costume. This change is noted by Miyabi, and it causes her to realise that Kaoru is a good influence on her. Having been sheltered for much of her life, Aoi can be rather naive when it comes to the ways of the world e.g. she didn't know what a turntable was until Tina explained it to her. She has a habit of frequently apologizing, often for things that aren't even her fault or aren't worth apologizing for, such as clinging to Kaoru in her sleep, which she has no control over. Ironically, she takes Kaoru apologizing to her very poorly, claiming that she understands his feelings better than anyone and that there's no need for him to ever be sorry. While she does get jealous sometimes, as any woman in love does, she manages to control it and remains hopeful and optimistic that Kaoru will stay loyal to her, and her faith always pays off. While generally quiet, subservient and consistently selfless, Aoi is far from being a doormat and is in fact a very plucky and determined young woman. Aoi will fight for the things and people she loves, even willing to defy her own family just so she can be at Kaoru's side. At one point, she even goes so far as to part ways with them just to be with Kaoru, though she regretted this shortly afterwards. Appearance to Others Aoi as we later know, is needed greatly in the Sakuraba family home. When Tina, Kaoru, and Taeko are off to school, Aoi stays home to clean, do the laundry, cook, and take care of the pets as well as Miyabi. She is very efficient in her work and is a very good cook. When Aoi gets sick with influenza, the rest try to fill in on what she does, and find it very difficult, to the point that they are unable to beleive that she works and puts in much effort without showing signs of distress or complaint. Trivia *Aoi's given name (aoi) has the same pronunciation as the Japanese word for "blue" (青), but the kanji used (葵) translates to "hollyhock". Her surname (桜庭sakuraba) means "cherry-blossom garden", and her given name means "hollyhock flower". *She has a habit of clutching things in her sleep. *Her birthday, July 7th, is the day of the Tanabata Festival, which celebrates the meeting of deity lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi as it is the only day are they allowed to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month once a year. *In the English dub, before Michelle Ruff was cast, Nika Futterman, Felicia Day, Cindy Robinson, Philece Sampler, and Hynden Walch were considered to voiced Aoi Sakuraba. Category:Ai Yori Aoshi characters Category:Main Characters Category:Females